Albert Lopez
Planning Director
Planning

Trees and the Urban Forest in Unincorporated Alameda County

Note: Archived Content

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a collection of photos of various treed areas of alameda county

Urban Forest Plan Project - 2026-2028

April 1, 2026 News Update: In 2025, Alameda County received a $685,000 grant from CAL FIRE to fund the Unincorporated Alameda County Urban Forest Plan project. This project includes development of a comprehensive Urban Forest Plan, a tree inventory for the urban unincorporated areas, and a workforce development program to help aspiring arborists and tree care professionals connect with training and jobs.

This project is officially beginning in April of 2026, and will include paid opportunities for community members and aspiring arborists to get involved. Please join our listserv to receive updates about the project and these paid opportunities:

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Proyecto del Plan Forestal Urbano - 2026-2028

Actualización de noticias del 1 de abril de 2026: En 2025, el condado de Alameda recibió una subvención de 685 000 dólares de CAL FIRE para financiar el proyecto del Plan Forestal Urbano del área no incorporado del condado de Alameda. Este proyecto incluye la elaboración de un Plan Forestal Urbano, un inventario de árboles del área no incorporado, y un programa de desarrollo de la fuerza laboral destinado a ayudar a los aspirantes a arbolistas y a los profesionales del cuidado de los árboles a acceder a formación y puestos de trabajo.

Este proyecto comenzará oficialmente en abril de 2026 e incluirá oportunidades remuneradas para que participen los miembros de la comunidad y los aspirantes a arbolistas. Únase a nuestra lista de correo para recibir novedades sobre el proyecto y estas oportunidades remuneradas:

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Benefits of the Urban Forest (Beneficios del bosque urbano) include the following: Clean air and water (aire y agua limpios), Walkable neighborhoods (barrios más transitables), Lower energy bills (Facturas de energía más bajas), Improved public health (major salud pública), Shade and cooling (sombra y reducción de temperaturas), Natural beauty (belleza natural), Higher property values (aumento del valor de la propiedad), Community cohesion (cohesion comunitaria), Decreased pollution (menos contaminación). Wildlife habitat (habitat natural)

Benefits of Trees

Trees provide many economic, social, and environmental benefits to Alameda County's unincorporated communities. In urban areas, the presence of trees can raise property values, lower energy bills, decrease pollution, cool down buildings and pavement, increase urban wildlife habitat, and support healthier and more connected neighborhoods. In the County's rural areas, trees help prevent soil erosion, decrease storm runoff and flooding, increase native biodiversity, provide shade and cooling, and enhance natural scenic beauty.

Trees are also crucial allies in the County's climate change response, sequestering carbon as they grow, decreasing energy use and associated greenhouse gas emissions, and making neighborhoods more resilient to climate change hazards like extreme heat and flooding.

Street Trees

Street trees and other trees in unincorporated Alameda County's public right-of-way are protected by the County's Tree Ordinance (number O-2016-66) and managed by the Public Works Agency's Tree Program. Please visit PWA's website to learn more about this ordinance and the right-of-way Tree Program.

Trees on Private Property

There are currently no Countywide ordinances regulating trees on private property in unincorporated Alameda County. Recent public processes to develop the County's Environmental Justice Element and Community Climate Action Plan highlighted a need to explore strategies to increase tree protections on private property that consider both the benefits of a healthy urban tree canopy and concerns about preserving private property rights, and to explore adoption of a hazardous tree ordinance. In response, Planning Department staff are currently reaching out to community through a series of public presentations to gather information and, eventually, propose a course of action for the community and the Board of Supervisors to consider.

Public Discussions About Tree Ordinances

Contact Us

To learn more about the Alameda County Planning Departments efforts around trees and the urban forest, please contact Senior Planner Ali Abbors at alison.abbors@acgov.org or 510-670-5428 or join our listserv to receive occasional email updates:


Email Updates
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